The Effort of Spring

Winter has a strong hold.  I feel this way every spring, anxious to feel the warmth, see things green up and grow, and celebrate as the last patch of muddy snow disappears.  This is the road the dogs and I walk, just to the north of the place.  Ruby comes home dirty and covered in red mud on her feet and belly.  I do not complain. 

We finally got out on the snowmobiles today.  A lovely ride under towering mountains glistening in whiteness against the bluebird winter sky.  The trail winds and weaves through narrows, against steep banks, up to wide open plateus where one feels atop of the world and the view seems to go on forever, from mountain range to mountain range, infinite.  

Lunch at the remote Box Y Ranch, today filled with snowmobilers relaxing in the little log cabin, waiting for their turn at the burgers and fries always finished with a warm chocolate chip cookie.  We sit and talk to Cindy about friends from the past, crashes breaking bones, new replacement knees, and multimillion dollar landlords.  It is so nice, to sit and talk there in the middle of no where. 

Back in time for a walk with the dogs.  They spy something in the field which looks like a raven to me.  They are at full attention and I wonder if it is an eagle, seeing a bit of white just as the dogs break and take off across the field covered in 3 feet of snow so rock hard, they effortlessly fly across the surface.  And then the black thing lifts its tail.  I yell, I warn them to not get close, I blow the dog whistle (frantically) and they hear me.  They don't get too close.  And they return coming back smelling like dogs rather than skunk.  That was a close call!! 

And I ask you, who is the most handsome dog in the world??  Rooster showing off on the roadside rock hard snow bank, happily unscathed by skunk scent!  Complete still with a full set of testicles! 

It's been a hard week for me and this was just what the Doc would order!!  Hope your weekend is a good one!   

Gardening

"I hate this weather," my friend Brenda spit out.  "It's getting in the way of my gardening!"  Brenda and I have much in common.  She too despises meetings where people talk.  Meetings are where we get things done!  Not talk.  Brenda is funny, bright, and blunt.  She has bees.  And her husband is nice. 

Today, I shoveled a path into both greenhouses.  It makes me feel hopeful.  Although the west wind was sharp, the sun heated my black sweater and as I covered my rock-hard frozen planters with black plastic, I hoped they too would feel that solar heat.  

Here a sunflower pokes its snow topped head out of the four feet of snow.  It's down to zero tonight; not much melting happening!  

Always an optimist!  I dream of maybe some lettuce here in the next bit - or so.  

And doesn't this lil greenhouse look so cute, all snuggled in with snow?  And how about that black snow storm against the mountains to the east?  Thanks to a wicked wind storm earlier this winter, this lil greenhouse will have a harder time warming up; panels missing and cracked.  The weather is tough on things. 

Brenda's birthday is Friday.  She and her nice husband will come and sit at our table with two other nice people and I will cook and create beautiful food for beautiful people, we will drink wine (well, they will; I'm still not drinking), tell stories, and celebrate this wonderful, amazing thing called life.  Even if winter continues to be determined to stay far beyond its welcome this year.  Happy Birthday, My Gardening Friend!! 

January Walk in March

Just like a January day in Illinois, the horizontal snow stung my face as I walked outside to dare a stroll down the road with the dogs.  I crossed the highway onto the gravel Tin Cup Junction Road, the overhead powerlines singing their eerie wind song.  The dogs were jubilant; wound up tight like rubber bands.  This weather does not deter dogs who have been house-bound a bit longer than they would like. 

We walked north, the west wind pummeling my side, my white rabbit hat anchored under my chin and slightly off center to add coverage.  The Rivers West coat stopped the wind and collected a white layer of snow coating.  

When the sun was out, it was a lovely winter scene, observed with some irony on this third day of March. Then the clouds darkened the sky, the snow flakes increased and spring seemed quite aways away.  

I hold little hope for my bees, two hives still hanging on, shivering together to stay warm, peeking outside to see only whiteness.  A bush by the Garden Shed looks like it has green buds beginning.  The horses wander around plowed areas in the corral and surrounding fields, diminished in size by the towering walls of snow Michael has piled to clear them a way.  

We watch the news from California.  Our storm is quaint compared to what is happening there.  One day, spring will come.  Or maybe it will just turn summer.  There is much snow to melt.  This is how much snow just on the flats.  Yup, that's the top of a picket fence.

PS  For those of you who read the last post, I am feeling great!!  Quite the ordeal almost a week ago now.  I've learned a few more things about this body of mine!!  Take good care of yours!! 

 

Three Stories

Story 1:  Kena, the paramedic of the crew, raised the battery-powered gurney up and latched it into the ambulance.  She raised the legs and pushed the gurney into the back.  The patient muttered, to no one in particular, "well, it's my turn now", and they all began the drive to Eastern Idaho Falls Medical Center.  It would be close to a two hour drive, banging over the new-formed potholes and frost heaves along the way.  

Kena, a middle aged sligtly chunky happy woman, loves transports.  She never wanted to be a firefighter and is happy she can do what she loves with the strictly EMS system in Star Valley.  She lives quite a ways away, but comes and does here 48 hour shift to enjoy 96 hours of not working.  

As the crew got close to the center, Kena provided her patient report to the receiving emergency room.  "I have a 63 year old woman, A and O time four, who suffered two syncopal events this evening.  She is resting comfortably, no complaints of chest pain or shortness of breath.  We have hepron and saline, slow drip.  NStemi suspected.  We will be at your location in about ten minutes."

The doors to the back open, and the patient is wheeled out.  It is just after midnight when the crew hands off the patient to the emergency room staff.  The patient is wheeled into Room 2 where questions are asked and waiting begins. 

Story 2:  Tasha was the night nurse that retrieved the patient from the ER to roll her into room 404 on the cardiac floor of the hospital at 3am.  More questions and the light dimmed for some much-needed rest.  In the morning, Tasha tells the story of having a severe liver disease as a child.  The one milk she could drink was goat's milk.  Her dad got one goat so they could have milk for baby Tasha.  He soon became a goat farmer, selling hundreds of milking goats to California farms.  

Story 3:  I could feel the world close in right after I sat down at the kitchen table.  I took a bite of Brenda's delicious bison chili and then started to get hot.  Got up to excuse myself, saying "I don't feel good".  Stood up and then passed out.  Right there, on her floor by the kitchen table.  When I came to, Mike was in my face asking me if I was alright.  I said I wanted to go to the bathroom, stood up and proceeded to pass out again.  Well, so much for that dinner party!! 

Once I got settled in the bathroom, I felt better, but even I agreed, we probably needed to go to the Afton ER.  The blood samples revealed high levels of the enzyme your heart puts out when stressed; ie, when you have a heart attack.  When to doc left the room after telling Mike and I his concerns, I looked at Mike and said, "We know it.  We know how your life can change in a blink of an eye."  With confidence, he assured me everything was going to be alright.  What a great guy I have!!

So off I would be transported to Eastern Idaho Medical Center for further evaluation.  They are the best of the best and it's where you want to be if you have cardio issues. 

There was reason to believe it was so.  I did have a really stressful job.  The statistics of how many people die within a year of retirement.  I've been under some high stress lately with a couple of things.  The heart attack enzyme was in my blood.  I full expected to have a stint put in as I arrived at the hospital. 

But there were hints.  "Your EKG looks perfect," noted the docs. 

Saturday morning I had yogurt for breakfast and it did not set well.  My intestines were bunched up, crampy and I felt lousy.  Then off we went to the Cutter Races where I filled in as announcer.  I didn't drink anything all afternoon.  And I still felt lousy when we got home.  I didn't think it was anything contagious, so off we hustled to join friends Steve and Brenda for dinner.  And then I ruined the evening by passing out. 

Thanks to a bunch of tests and a very good cardiologist, at 2pm Sunday afternoon, it was determined I had experienced two vasal vagal episodes, and the heart enzyme was produced because my heart was not very happy with the extreme drop in blood pressure.  The passing out was triggered when I sat down.  My full and crampy intestines put pressure on that nerve.  Couple that with being really dehydrated and I cratered. 

Now that is some of the best news you can get!!  At 4pm, I was discharged and Mike - who had driven over to be with me - drove me home just as the big snow storm was hitting. 

I woke up this morning, thankful I had not experienced a cardiac event and so so appreciative of good health.  Today, I am well, hydrated, and anticipating some really really big medical bills. 

Today, I am celebrating life!!  

A Post. No Pictures

Did you know people are more likely to remember facts when told in a story?  Like 22 times more likely!  People also remember pictures much better than words. 

And why do I tell you these things?  Having just finished my Master Beekeeper project for Great Plains Master Beekeeping (which means, yes, now I am a certified Master Beekeeper!), these thoughts are fresh on my mind.  My project was actually several projects.  All to be added to the curriculum which guides the new beekeeper toward the prize - the Master Beekeeping certification.  

A presentation for Mentoring has been added in the Journeyman level.  My tips for mentoring?  Work really hard on the fit.  People who don't fit together won't work well together.  As a mentor, don't let the mentee suck the life blood out of you.  For mentors, ask questions, listen, and work.  A mentor should not just hand things to you.  Figure it out - and always say thank you.  

Then I did a presentation on Leadership for the Master Beekeeping class extra curriculum.  These are classes you watch when you've watched everything else and it's still winter and the only way you can muster an ounce of sanity is by thinking about bees.  Trying not to remember they are clustered up in a very tight ball inside your hive out there in the field shivering to stay warm on another miserable cold night.  And you hope they are still alive and have not simply died. 

My final class was on giving a presentation.  Or as I say, my Presentation presentation.  I put the most effort into this class which will become part of the required curriculum for Master Beekeepers.  My friend Joe watched it and gave me some great tips to make it one notch better.  Which I did, of course.  It's really nice to have friends who will give you honest, gentle feedback. 

All this has humbled me.  My Imposter Syndrome is full-on at work reminding me I am no expert and have no right to be yammering on like I know what I'm doing.  I did my best and I do believe a certificate will be on its way.  

In no way does this mean I know my bees.  Learning must and will continue.  The end of next month, I am off to Wyoming Bee College where this year, I will be an instructor.  Three classes I will be teaching.  Enter stage right....Imposter Syndrome!  I'm sure I will learn as much as I deliver!! 

Mike did a really awesome thing this week.  Pressed by an upcoming deadline, he filled out the paperwork, found some photographs, and wrote a heartfelt missive about his buddy Tom whom he has nominated into the Cowboy Hall of Fame.  I did a bit of editing (and some "decorating", shall we say) to his written piece and as I read it to Mike this afternoon, we both got choked up recognizing how much we really do admire, respect, and love Tom Breen.  May he be nominated and surrounded by his family and friends this September.  He sure as hell deserves it; he's one hell of a cowboy!  

I read a great book you should consider.  Die with Zero   I very much enjoyed this read. 

Cooking using my new sous vide!  Tonight, lamb chops.  Moist, cooked perfectly and delicious!  

Burnt four loaves of bread this morning.  I hate it when that happens!

Hope you are well.  Happy.  Stay safe and warm. 

Snow-ma-geddon!

"It's puking snow!" Mike exclaimed.  He wasn't that thrilled, relocating the white stuff which refused to quit coming.  So it seems, Freedom was the Eye of this Storm.  By the time it finished late this morning, piles of snow two feet high balanced atop fence posts, weighted down roof tops, and blanketed the fields.  A cold front pushed out the clouds around noon and revealed winter in its finest glory!  Now for the bitter cold of January; it is about to arrive.  

Here are some fun winter images.  

November 2022  

December 2022

January 2023

A ski with the dogs this afternoon.  The fields are now so deep, even Rooster is sinking in!  Check out the video at the bottom! 

Our Winter Home

All Things are Piled High - or Buried!

The Barn Quilt

Scenes from our Ski up Tin Cup Junction Road

The Garden Entrance

Gate into the Horse Pasture

Rooster in the Snow! 

A Neat Tool

Our bee club purchased a FLIR, Forward Looking Infared camera, to do just what you see in this picture.  When it arrived, it was just like Christmas!!  I felt like a kid who had opened a gift and just HAD to go use it! With a short charge of the battery, I loaded up the app, and that was it!  Ready to use!!  Technology is incredible!!  These cameras used to cost over $10k!!  Clearly useful for firefighters to find heat, our Hoback station was first in the county to get one.  It was black and white; there was no color rendition at that time.  This tiny camera hooks into an iPhone and displays on the screen.  

So, off I went into the dusky twilight and looked at my hives.  Hot spots means bees are still alive.  The hot spots are the whitest.  We will allow our members to use this tool for a week so they can get a sense of 1) if their bees are still alive 2) where the bees are located within the hive, and 3) do whatever else they think will be fun!!  Of course, you knew I would take a FLIR of Rooster, right??!!  

Here are my Weaver bees.  The hive sits out in the field, down the fence row a bit less than a half mile from the house.  The bottom darker area is where an insulation surround sits.  These are my best bees and they are still alive.  I have no high hopes; this has been a hard, hard winter.  

This is Rooster on the hillside!  He is the white spot in the dark, cold snow.  The area above are pine trees, showing some heat they have retained from the day.  

And Rooster again, because he is a ROCK STAR!!  Looking good in FLIR, buddy!! 

It's Been a Whirl Wind!

New Idaho Citizens!!

Yes, Mike and I have made the big change to becoming Idaho residents!!  The first step was to change our driver's license which, in Idaho, one is required to take the written driving test!  Really????!!  Really!  We studied, reading aloud to each other traveling to Cody to visit Seth, Alden, & Orley for Christmas.  It is a good thing to study.  We know of more than one person who failed because they did not study.  It's a bit of a drive from our house to Soda Springs, ID and we only wanted to make that drive once.  We passed. 

This picture was taken on a celebration xcountry ski afterwards in Idaho!  Yes, the sun was very bright!! 

More smiles!!  This photo, taken on a wonderful Christmas day walk.  Alden in the green jacket and sister Orly in the black jacket.  Seth stayed behind.  He does not walk unless he has to.  The day before we arrived, the temperature sunk to -40F.  This day, it was 40F.  Crazy. 

Two inspirations from the White Girls' amazing Christmas dinner!  Prime rib cooked sous vide (yes, I now have one!) and a pumpkin stuffed with cheese and sourdough bread and mushrooms.  We ate well, we ate well!  The liver pate was an inspiration too!

Here is my rendition of a stuffed pumpkin.  I used sausage, mushrooms, sourdough bread cubes, guyre cheese, and wild rice as stuffing.  Highly recommend this effort!! 

Meanwhile on the ranch, we have hit the jackpot!!  Our hens are laying eggs which suddenly have become in great demand!  I bet kids aren't egging peoples' houses anymore!!  22 of these orbs are incubating in friend Stephanie's incubator and daughter Amilia impatiently watches over them, by the hour, I'm sure!  We plan to keep that incubator working this spring! 

And one final note on how great it has been to have a dog who needs a daily walk.  Rooster drives me to get outside.  I am happier and healthier and so so in love with this giant neanderthal-headed beast.  So much joy, so much joy!!  

I hope you too have had this wonderful of a start to your year!!  Happy 2023!

 

 

It's a Wonderful Life

I hope you have made it your tradition too.  To share a nice meal, turn the lights down, que up the old, black and white version, and watch, again, It's a Wonderful Life.  

We kept our annual tradition and did just this tonight.  What a great movie.  Think of all the lives you have touched over the last year.  There are so many things that you probably don't even realize which have made a difference in someone else's life.  

I think of a recent suicide.  Heart wrenching for those left behind.  I wish Clarence the Angel would have been around to show him all the people he touched.  All of his generosity and giving.  And now, he is gone.  

Mike and I and the kids went for a beautiful winter walk this afternoon.  The sun came out, it felt warm enough to take off the rabbit hat and tie the top layer around my waist.  The sun, far to the south, was shrouded in a halo of frosty ice crystals. Elk tracks zig zag and criss cross helter skelter through the flat white snow laden fields.  We walk a mile, then turn up a boot path I have been beating down since the snow started to fall.  It's an incline and I drop my coat and hat alongside the trail to be picked up coming back down.  We pause at the top of the hill, breathing hard, taking in the vast expansive rural scene.  It is quiet.  No birds.  No elk on the hillsides.  Just the sound of the dogs leaping through the deep snow and the crunch of our boots under foot.  The air is fresh and clean and smells like snow.  Shadows lengthen and we turn back. 

Rooster rabbit-jumps into the deep snow, his nose guiding his body to the next smell.  He buries his head deep looking for the mouse that surely was just there.  Ruby tries to keep up, her short legs never touching the ground in the open field.  They romp and play and have the best of time together.  So much joy the dogs show us.  Watch closely and learn. 

There is no tree, there are no decorations and there are just a few wrapped gifts here in this warm and wonderful country home.  We are surrounded by gifts; a vast view to the south out our windows, wood to burn in the fireplace and heat up our mornings, an espresso machine so generously given to us by friends who should know how much they touched us with this generous gift, two loving dogs, a friend and partner to share the days with, good food and good spirits, family and friends who reach out and check in, making it oh so very clear how loved we are in this life we share all together.  

It is, indeed, a Wonderful Life. 

A Site for the Bee Club

 We did it!!  We have a live, working website for High Mountain Pollinators & Bees!!  Pretty stoked!!  Check it out HERE.  

California was good.  Rainy, cold, but there was much good wine to taste.  Pictures later.  

The gal who watched our house while we were away scored hundreds of points when she sent me this awesome image of Rooster!!!  This dog LOVES snow!! 

Thanksgiving Day

The sense of unwinding can be felt.  A giant nation-wide exhalation into a long weekend of food, family, and probably a football game or two.  There is a genuine thankfulness to Thanksgiving, even when you are retired. 

We have made some great friends here in Star Valley and we are thankful for all these new, fun people in our lives.  They, however, all have family or left town.  We celebrate this day of thanksgiving with each other.  Two good friends, walking through life side by side, sitting in our home on our farm feeling incredibly thankful this year. 

Mike smoked a turkey on the Traeger grill which was simply stunning!  It looked delicious, it smelled amazing, and was the juiciest most tender turkey either of us have ever sunk our teeth into.  Spot on, job well done, Chef Trumbower!!  

We kept it simple.  Turkey, some just made mashed potatoes, gravy from the giblets, and a hot sour cherry pie.  While we sipped wine and enjoyed the somewhat simple Thanksgiving me, we ticked off all the dishes missing and were happy for their absence!  And we took inventory of all the many blessings in our lives. 

I hope your Thanksgiving was equally as refreshing and relaxing, delicious and delightful!  

One More Step

 This was a very good class!  One more class and I will be a Master Beekeeper! 

People Pestering Me

People!  People!  I'm trying to retire here!!  Just kidding and thank you loyal fans for pointing out the lack of postings.  I mean really, the last post has Rooster in green grass on a warm fall day.  It was -9F this morning and snow now covers that grass. 

Winter came serious-like to this area.  The bees cluster tight in their wooden boxes, shivering to stay warm.  Shivering, shivering all day, all night long.  The first day it's decent outside, they will fly to poop.  That's a long time to hold your poo.   

The elk have been a daily event in our field and a daily worry after they knocked down a section of fence and the mules figured out where, got out, ran down the road, and visited with our neighbor's herd.   The elk come down from the mountain in the evening and head to our neighbor's saifoin field.  Then, they string a line of steamy bodies toward the mountain in the morning.  We soak in the hot tub listening to their calls.  This morning's snow plow activity messed the world up for them.  There was a moment when the herd - 200? 300? elk - was running our direction.  I had the binoculars on them.  A herd of elk running our way, steam encasing the whole lot of them.  Antlers above the dense pod of anxious bodies.  A scene I shall not forget soon.  The beauty of it.  They finally got a break and ascended into the dark forest.  

We have been loving "Somebody Feed Phil" on Netflix!  This guy steals my heart with his love for food, for people, for places, and for his parents.  It's a cool show.  Five stars!

I won something today.  Yes, remarkable!!  Bought some raffle tickets, as I do every year, to benefit a fresh food entity in Jackson.  I won a $958 package!!  A turkey (like one that was raised on a farm), a magnum of Jackson Hole wine, and a carving set made by a very exclusive and expensive knife place in Jackson.  Check them out!  We have absolutely NOTHING to do on Thanksgiving (so so sad) as it seems our entire resume of friends all have family.  We miss you Family, so far away.  

New in the kitchen, Swedish cinnamon rolls.  Holy moley, these things are amazing!!  I will be offering them frozen when my Jackson online outlet reopens.  Take the frozen roll out the night before you want it, pop in a 350 oven for 25 minutes, slather on the cream cheese frosting and take that first bite.  Ooooo, a bit of cardamon in the dough, almond meal oozes with cinnamon sugar for the filling, all sweetly braided into a lovely thing.  Before you come and visit, make sure I have some ready! 

Soon it will be time for our annual tradition of watching "It's A Wonderful Life".  We will turn down the lights, turn on the old version, and watch it knowing exactly what comes next.  And that would be us wiping tears away.  Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.  What a great tradition, what a great show.  

Here are some photos that tie to the above update.  Happy Thanksgiving.  All the many blessings! 

Rooster in the snow

Winter walk

Elk Tracks

Elk in the field

Rolls just out of the oven

Dressed in cream cheese frosting

Hive holding shivering bees! 

For The Love of a Dog

Yesterday.  Warm fall day.  A slight breeze.  A dog who has absolutely stolen my heart.  Rooster.  The Gentle Giant. 

Next year's garlic crop is in the ground.  707 cloves of pungent goodness!!